


Pyrexia

by natsora



Series: The Long Road Home [2]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Dizziness, F/F, Fever, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Post Season 5, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:08:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26442466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/natsora/pseuds/natsora
Summary: Her joints ached, her muscles sore, but it is nothing a little nap won’t fix right? When Catra missed dinner, Adora brings her food only to have Catra faint in her arms. Catra struggles to deal with her guilt and the lingering resentment over her time with the Horde as a fever rages through her body.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Series: The Long Road Home [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1916752
Comments: 11
Kudos: 204





	Pyrexia

**Author's Note:**

> [Pip-n-flinx](https://pip-n-flinx.tumblr.com/) sent me [this](https://justcatposts.tumblr.com/post/624369320547549184/got-the-good-spot-source), I guess big cat videos are now my prompts?

Catra sneezed and shook the rain off herself. This, she decided, was the worst. Hauling rocks and moving rubble might have rubbed her hands bloody and raw, doing it in the rain was only adding insult to injury. She unwinded the bandages around her palms and winced. Her blisters had burst. They oozed bloody water all over. Rinsing them off in some water, she redressed them again. The last thing Catra wanted was Adora fussing over some stupid blisters and using She-Ra powers to heal them. 

The pain was right. She needed to feel it, to feel like she was atoning. 

They had been here in this village for the better part of the week. And with the monsoon season hitting in full force right now, it had been raining for days on end. Typically, it started with a light drizzle at the wee hours of the morning and turning to a proper downpour by noon. That usually lasted till the evening when it either let up or subsided into a light drizzle again. All their prime working hours had to been drowned by the rain, but the villagers needed shelter. Shelters couldn’t be built if the rubble wasn’t clear. Chicken, egg, there was no mystery here. As distasteful it was to work in the rain, Catra had worse. It was just fucking water anyway. 

A shiver ran up her spine as she pulled off her clothes. She grimaced as she wrung them out. A surprisingly copious amount of water splattered onto the floor of the tent she shared with Adora. _Shit._ Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. She’d clean it up later. Draping her clothes onto the clothesline they had strung up the first day they got here, she took the dry ones off and put them on. She sighed with something akin to relief for the first time the entire day. 

Her fingers were still numb. Rubbing them together, worked up a little heat to warm herself. When that wasn’t enough, she tucked them into her armpits. A week of working in the rain and rough manual labour made her yearn for one of Entrapta’s robots. Alas the little tech genius was back at Dryl trying to get everything back in working order, no doubt stuffing her face with tiny cakes at the same time. 

Catra snorted. She yawned and stretched. Her muscles protested the motion as her joints ached. She had been feeling odd for a couple of days now. Chills that rattle down her spine and waves of heat that left her mind foggy. All those she managed to ignore while she worked. But today had been the worst after she offered Adora her raincoat when the blonde dumbass ripped hers while chasing off some wild fauna that tried to eat the camp’s supplies. 

It was just rain after all, Catra decided. No big deal. She slumped into the bed she shared with Adora and drew the blankets around her shoulders. Their shared tent looked like a mishmash of whatever furniture Glimmer could afford to spare and supplies they had salvage from the Fright Zone. A huge four poster bed dominated the space and that was all the space they had got in the tent. Other than the clothes line that ran from one of the poster of the bed to the tent flap, there was barely space for anything else. 

Catra sighed. With Adora busy helping out at the kitchen, no doubt waving her big ass She-Ra sword around, trying to slice veggies with it. She rolled her eyes at the thought even though there weren’t anyone to see it. The image in her mind’s eye made her smile. She’d wait for the dinner bell before heading out into the rain again. Sniffing a little to keep from sneezing, she yawned again. Now that she no longer felt like a frozen icicle, the steady pattering against the tent’s fabric made her sleepy. She could wait for Adora with her eyes shut, she wouldn’t fall asleep. She was just resting her eyes, that’s all. 

* * *

“Catra,” a voice called. It felt like an insistent knock against her consciousness. Catra wished it would just go the fuck away. 

“You missed dinner,” the voice continued, drifting nearer. “I’ve saved you something.”

Catra shivered. Did someone yanked her blankets away? That didn’t feel right. The weight of both blankets still pressed against her skin. But why was it so cold?

“Catra, is something wrong?” 

A soft thump of wood against wood came from somewhere beside her. A hand reached into a cocoon and pulled a section of the blanket off her face. Catra peeled her eyes opened to find Adora smiling at her. She returned the smile with a slight perk of her lips.

“There you are. Do you want the stew? I made it specially with meat I’ve hunted today,” Adora said. Twisting around she lifted the bowl to show Catra. 

Catra sniffed and found she couldn’t smell a thing. In fact, she’d normally be able to tell when dinner was ready by scent alone. She rubbed her eyes and stared at the stew. Even with it held just under her nose, she could smell nothing. Her ears flattened against her head in annoyance. Her gut didn’t even bother to rumble despite not having dinner. She shook her head. “Not hungry.”

Adora’s mouth hung open, looking an odd mix of offence and surprise. She placed the bowl down and sank into the bed. “I know it’s no masterful cuisine from Bright Moon’s kitchen, but I expect you’re starving after all that work you’ve done.”

“I’m just not hungry,” Catra muttered. It took real concentration trying to string her words together. She wanted nothing more than to steal all the blankets in the camp and just hide in the middle of the pile. The way her neck felt stiff made her fear a headache was creeping on. She’d do anything to stave that off. 

Adora’s lips pressed thin for a moment. She stood abruptly and went to rummage around her bag. Gasping a muffled sound of triumph, she all but skipped back towards Catra. “I know, I know. My stew isn’t going to be very delicious. But look what I’ve got. I know, I know, you’ve sniffed it out I was hiding this.” Adora held out a good sized block and waved it at her. “I’ve tasted it and it’s still good. I am willing to split it with you.” Her eyebrows twitched up and down a couple of times at Catra. 

Now typically, a grey block was worth more than the browns or the greens. Hell, a grey block was good enough to trade chores for. But Catra couldn’t say why, she just wasn’t feeling hungry. She shook her head. “You can have it,” she said through chattering teeth. 

To say Adora looked aghast was putting it mildly, but instead of eating it, she placed the grey block reverently back into her bag. “We can share it another day.” 

Catra wasn’t listening. As cold as she felt earlier, a wave of heat rushed up her body. Now everything was too hot. Her throat dry, her mouth parched, she needed water, and she needed it yesterday. Tossing the blankets off of herself, Catra swung her legs down to the ground. She stood and took two steps. The floor surged up and slammed into her. Her last thought was: _Oh shit._ And everything went black. 

* * *

Catra groaned and glanced around her. Someone was cradling her head while something was stuck into her ear. Her fear response kicked in. She yelped and lashed out with her claws. “Catra, Catra, it’s just the doctor.” Arms wrapped tightly around her, holding her arms back. 

There was something comforting in feeling the vibrations of the person’s voice as well as hearing them. Only one person had that affect on her. The fog retreated. 

“Adora? What happened?”

Something beeped and Catra flinched. Her thoughts scattered like sand in the wind. She had no hope of gathering them all again. Frowning, she struggled to sit up. “Don’t hit anyone,” Adora warned, but she relaxed her grip on Catra. 

Whatever was in her ear withdrew. The instrument was attached to a hand, which in turn was attached to an arm and a body and finally a face. Wispy grey hair escaped a loosely tied bun a top a head. Hard tired brown eyes regarded Catra, but she faced Adora and spoke. “She’s having a fever and —”

Catra sneezed, covering her nose and mouth only in the nick of time. Pressure stomped against the back of her eyeballs. The headache she feared was now a reality drumming its bass line inside her skull. She groped around for something to clean her face with and Adora handed her a box of tissues. 

“Rest, water, and no blankets,” the doctor declared. “I’ll send someone with some medicine over.”

“Maybe I can heal her with She-Ra powers?” Adora suggested. 

Catra groaned. Adora had a hammer called She-Ra powers and all she saw were nails. Catra — her fever at the very least — had just become a nail. 

“No,” the doctor snapped, glaring at Catra as if she was the one who suggested it. “She-Ra powers shouldn’t be wasted on Horde—”

“Don’t say that!” Adora snapped. Gingerly, she removed Catra’s head from her lap and stood in front of Catra, blocking the doctor from view. 

Catra suddenly felt really tired. A heavy sinking feeling took hold in her guts. Nothing she did was going to be enough and rightfully so. The shit she had done was unforgivable. She would have had herself arrested and executed or something. 

“She’s trying, can’t you see that?” Adora pleaded. 

“Horde scum will always be Horde scum,” the doctor declared and swept out of the place. 

Adora growled in frustration, muttering under her breath, “Why can’t they see the good you’ve done? I can’t let this stand.” She strode towards the tent flap, but Catra surged to her feet up and grabbed Adora’s arm, stumbling in the process — or more accurately, her knees buckled and she fell. 

Adora caught her. She gingerly settle Catra back to the ground. “You shouldn’t be up. I should heal you. I don’t care what they say. This power is supposed to help. I should—”

“Adora, enough.” If defeat had a voice, it found it in Catra’s — tiny, raspy and exhausted. 

The cold from the ground seeped up through the ground sheet and into her bones. Catra suppressed a shiver climbing up her spine, sending tiny pin pricks into her marrow. Forcing herself to stand, she found her legs shaky and unsteady. She squeezed her eyes shut as her head swarm. 

Adora swept an arm below Catra’s thighs, another around her waist and lifted her off the ground. Catra struggled. The idea that she needed carrying might have been fun if she wasn't feeling like shit, but now she hated being babied, not when the guilt of her past actions threatened to choke her. 

“Put me down.” The order came out thin, weak and completely ignorable. 

Adora ignored her and pressed her lips against Catra’s forehead. The sensation felt like ice on her skin. Catra flinched. 

“Shhh... please just let me take care of you. If you don't want me to go talk to the doctor, if you don't want me to heal you, then let me do this.”

Catra huffed, ready to fight Adora, but that dumbass stared at her. Those stupidly earnest blue eyes boring into hers. Why was she so helpless against them? 

“Fine.”

Gingerly, Adora slipped into the bed with Catra. Back against chest, Catra winced. Her skin was so sensitive everything hurt right then. The headache pounded against her temples. Shivering, she reached out to grab the blankets to have Adora take it out of her hands. 

Catra twisted around. “I'm cold,” She growled. “I'm fucking freezing.”

“You're having a fever. A blanket now is unwise.”

Catra was exhausted, in pain and she just had her efforts for the past months stomped to bits, she didn't want to add an argument with Adora on the list, but she did feel cold. Tears started to prick at the corners of her eyes. She snarled and turned away, rubbing at her eyes furiously. 

“Come on,” Adora coaxed, making not a single comment about that utterly embarrassing moment. 

Arms drew Catra closer, turning her around so that she lay with the side of her face pressed against Adora’s abs. Catra drew her feet up so that they tucked against her chest. The natural heat of Adora’s body slowly but surely seeping through Catra’s skin. Her eyelids grew heavy. Adora made a pained noise when Catra shivered, like it hurt her too. Sleepily, Catra reached up and ran a finger along Adora’s jaw. “I’m okay. I just need rest.”

Sighing, Adora didn’t look the slightest bit convinced, but she didn’t speak. Still, guilt poured from her every pore. Adora was terrible at keeping her feelings hidden. Catra grabbed one of Adora’s hands and nuzzled against it. “I will be okay. It’s just a little fever.”

“Okay,” Adora finally whispered. She shifted and retrieved a cup of water and offered the straw to Catra. 

Catra drank deeply and drained half the cup at a single go. Her body was an oxymoron. Her fingers and toes were ice cold, but her body felt an inferno got trapped in her chest. Nothing was comfortable, her skin tender, her joints ached, her muscles sore. 

“Sleep, just sleep,” Adora said, her voice quiet. She ran her fingers through Catra’s hair. Her nails scraped against Catra’s scalp. It made Catra shiver — this time in a good way. 

Catra told herself it didn’t matter if nobody forgave her as long as Adora did. That was all she needed. That niggling feeling in her chest when she got hard looks and furious glares, that clenching of her throat when she heard those hissed whispers and snarls curses didn’t matter not one bit. Adora was here. Her arms held Catra, and that was enough. Eyes sagging shut, she inhaled Adora’s signature scent of soap and fell asleep. 

* * *

Catra couldn’t say how long she slept. But when awareness returned to her, she could feel hands working up and down her stiff neck. They poked and prodded at the right parts, sending tiny courses of electricity down her spine. Somehow what happened to her neck was connected to her left leg. And there was an uncontrollable urge to move it. Her leg jerked once, and the hands stopped. 

Catra couldn’t help the soft whine that escaped her lips. The hands got the message and continued its journey up and down her neck, kneading her muscles like they were dough, easing all the bunched up tension out of that. Even the tension between her temples eased. A vibration ran up her chest unbidden, Catra purred. Her leg jerked again, this time slower but she couldn’t stop herself as long as the hands worked to unknot her muscles. Catra didn’t care how stupid it was to lay there scratching at the air with her foot. She was contented. Her head might still be heavy, her thoughts fuzzy. It didn’t matter at all. 

“You should take your medicine,” Adora said eventually, her hands retreated

Catra sighed, but she didn’t move away from her position, lying on top of Adora. Her body just weighed too heavily. A hand pressed against her forehead. 

“Your fever is getting worse, you have to need to take the medicine,” Adora hissed. 

“You sure they won’t poison me with it?” Catra asked. Her eyes half lidded as she looked at Adora. 

That blonde idiot had dark rings around her eyes. She hadn’t even change out of her clothes. How long did Adora held her for? Why wouldn’t Adora leave her alone and just take care of herself for a bit?

“They didn’t poison the medicine. I’ve checked.”

That made Catra sit up immediately. “No.”

“Yes.” Adora looked almost smug. 

“What if it was poisoned?” Catra nearly cried, fear raked its claws across her heart. “You could have died!” The thought was too much to bear. Ears tight against her skull, her hands clamped down on Adora’s arms, so tight her claws almost drew blood. 

“Fuck. Shit. Sorry.” She let go. Head bow and eyes averted, she all but collapsed in on herself, angry at her reaction, furious at Adora for not thinking about herself, bitter about her past actions. 

Adora pressed her lips against Catra’s crown and wrapped her arms around her. It was a hug so tight, her ribs got compressed and her lungs seized up. Even then, Catra held herself stiffly. She didn’t deserve this comfort, but yet how she yearned for it, how she needed it. 

Adora sighed, this one didn’t sounded pained, just a little exasperated. She didn’t speak, instead she let go and shifted. The drag of a bowl scraping across the bedside table rang loudly in the silent tent. The camp was asleep. The rain had stopped. They were probably the two fools still awake. 

“Come on,” Adora coaxed. “For me?”

It wasn’t fair. It was blatantly so fucking unfair. Adora’s voice, the way she said those words, they undid Catra. She had so much to be thankful for, and here she was throwing a fucking tantrum over what? Fucking nothing. Nobody would hurt Adora, she was the one who deserved to suffer. She should just—

“No.” Adora’s voice cut through her spiralling thoughts. The bowl drifted into her view as it was carefully placed on the bed between them. Warm hands cupped Catra’s face and lifted so that their eyes met. “Stop that. You don’t deserve to suffer. You have paid a high price and continue to do so. You’re as much of a victim as the rest of us.”

“How did you—”

“You were thinking too loudly” 

“But—”

No buts,” Adora insisted. 

Catra stared at Adora, falling into her eyes completely and utterly, drowning in them. And Catra didn’t care. She was safe. Taking a deep breath, she nodded. For Adora, she’d try. 

“Now take your medicine.” Adora picked up the bowl and lifted a spoonful of it. She waved it at Catra. 

“How does it taste?”

“Awful.” Adora made a face to go with her reply. 

Catra’s face matched hers. “I don’t know if you know this isn’t the way to get anyone to take their medicine.”

Adora dropped the spoon back into the bowl and her expression grew serious. Catra went all stiff again. Her heckles on the back of her neck raised. Did she say something wrong? She could blame it on the fever or something. Play it off as a joke. With her jaw clenched tight, she looked at Adora, searching for some hint in there. 

Adora sighed and took one of Catra’s hand in hers. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes.” The answer came readily without hesitation because it was the truth. 

“I don’t want to ever break that trust by lying to you.”

Catra blinked. Oh… “But this is different.”

“It’s not,” Adora replied firmed. “It really is not. I won’t lie to you because I never want to break the trust we have. I will never lie to you.”

A lump formed in Catra’s throat as her eyes grew hot. She didn’t have the ability to put what she felt into words, and so she didn’t. Action spoke louder than words. She didn’t want to lose Adora’s trust either. No, that wasn’t accurate, she didn’t want to lose Adora at all — period. 

With hands that shook slightly, Catra lifted the bowl up, and Adora took the spoon before she could. Adora lifted a spoonful of medicine to Catra’s lips. She sipped from it and immediately grimaced. 

“Fuck, you weren’t kidding.”

Adora laughed and Catra couldn’t help but joined in too. Catra never want to stop hearing that sound, ever. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hit me up on my [Tumblr](https://natsora.tumblr.com/). Kudos and comments are always welcome!


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